Union Dame
by tvfanforever
Summary: When Linda gets romantically involved with an older man who just so happens to be her boss, her family has a lot to say about it.


Union Dame

Linda Metcalf walked through the front door of the family house after a long and tedious day at the Sloan factory. As she hung her coat up by the door, Linda called out "I'm home" but upon receiving no response from her brother, Jeff, or Ginger, her close friend and soon to be sister in law, she headed into the kitchen. She walked in and saw a note pad sitting on the counter. As she got closer, she was able to see the writing on it and identified it as Jeffs'. She read the short message,

Dear Linda,

Ginger and I went out for dinner and a film, don't wait up

-Jeff

"Lovely" Linda moaned as she walked to the fridge and pulled out a beer. After taking a quick swig, she leaned against the counter and reached an arm behind her, lightly tugging at the pins in her hair allowing her long blond waves to fall freely around her shoulders and face. Mike Sloan flashed across her mind as she thought about the last time she went on a date to the movies. Linda thought about the times before the war when she and Mike were in love, Ginger and Charlie were engaged, and Hank and Sara were happy. 'Everything is different' she thought. It all started when the able bodied men of River Run, Ohio shipped out to fight in World War 2. She would write to Mike and he would write back when given an opportunity. Then one day she received a "Dear Jane" letter. It absolutely crushed her

Linda threw herself into work at the factory. It took her mind off of Mike and why he had left her for an Italian woman. She genuinely enjoyed her job. She liked getting her hands dirty welding. Then the war ended and the G.I's were due to return home. Everyone was thrilled. Ginger couldn't stop talking about quitting her job and marring Charlie. She had the whole wedding completely planed out only a few weeks after Charlie had proposed. The day the first group of G.I's where shipped home, the train station was full of families and friends waiting for their loved ones. That's when Linda bumped into Gina, Mikes wife. She didn't know what she had been expecting her to be like but the scared innocent girl in front of her was not it. Then Ginger found out Charlie had a wife, and Hank didn't even make it home that day.

As she walked through the empty house, she couldn't help but miss the times when it was near impossible to get a moment of silence. She missed her older brother Hank and his late wife Sara, she missed her mother and little brother Michael, she even missed Al. They had taken a three week trip to go see Al's family and were coming bake in six days. Linda had been shocked when her mother had informed them that she was pregnant with Al's child. She was utterly dumbfounded, her prudish, catholic mother who had always dissuaded her three children of premarital and extramarital sex, was having a love child with a Jewish man she had indirectly introduced she too.

She made her way back to the living room and downed the last of her beer setting the empty bottle on the table. She walked over to radio and switched it on. It started playing the beginning of "It don't mean a thing" and Linda started dancing around a little. She undid a few buttons at the top of her blouse to be more comfortable. When the song was over she laughed at herself as she flopped down on the couch and closed her eyes, just listening to song after song.

Linda bulleted up and looked at the clock "Oh no, I'm going to be late." She jumped up off the couch, slipped her shoes on and ran to the front door grabbing her coat, purse and the car keys. The entire drive to the office, she cursed herself for loosing track of time and forgetting that she had to proof read tonight. As she pulled into the parking lot she noticed that Jimmys car was not in his parking spot. 'He must be running late too' she thought. She was finally able to relax a little as she entered the building and went up the stairs.

As she walked into the editorial room a few journalist were just leaving for the night. Linda headed over to the desk she and Jimmy normally sat at when they worked. Sitting down, Linda stated reading over the first paper.

"Fifteen minutes" came a deep voice from behind Linda startling her.

"Excuse me?" Linda said as she turned around to see the tall silhouette leaning agents an empty doorframe in the cover of the dark.

"Fifteen minutes, that's how long ago you should have been here."

"Jimmy is that you? Look I'm so sorry I'm late i…"

"Jimmy's at the hospital, his wife went into labor an hour ago."

"oh" not sure what to say.

"I didn't see how it was fair for you to be stuck with all the work by yourself so I thought id fill in for him." He said walking away from the frame he had been leaning on, finally giving Linda a chance to see his face. He was a handsome man Linda thought, tall, and had a nice build. He was a bit older then herself, she guessed around ten or so years.

At that moment two men emerged from an office and walked across the room, slowing down to talk to the man Linda had been speaking with. "Hey Phil, we're heading out for a drink, want to join?" asked the short brunet.

"I'd love too but I have some work I need to catch up on"

"Whatever you say" the tall blond replied.

"See you tomorrow."

"Night Frank, Will" Phil said as the two men left.

Linda stood still next the desk, not sure what to say or do. Finally Phil looked back to Linda, "I don't think we've ever had the pleasure of meeting, Philip Havel" he said with a smile while reaching his hand out towered Linda. "Linda Metcalf" she said as she shook his hand.

"So you're that 'union dame' I've heard so much about. You're a little smaller then I imagined." He said towering over her. "Jimmy told me you were a dish but I never thought you'd look like this", he said with a cocky yet charming grin, as he quickly glanced at Lindas body as she stood in front of him, her hair was completely down, a rare occurrence for any woman in the office, and it was slightly disheveled, which Phil found quite sexy. She was wearing a white button up shirt, with the top few buttons still undone from earlier, that was tucked into a tan pencil skirt that showed off her figure very well.

"Union dame, I like that" she said with a laugh and smiled up at the man in front of her. "Shall we get to work?" Phil asked as he pulled a seat up next to the desk Linda had been sitting at, and sat down grabbing a copy of the first story. She sat down and started reading. They made fast work and managed to finish with time to spar. Linda had noticed the way that Phil would occasionally look up from a paper and direct his attention to her.

Once everything was filed and put away, Phil went to grab his coat. He noticed Linda pull out a folder and start working on something new.

"What's that you got there?"

"It's a pice on the Sloan housing development"

He checked his watch noticing how late it was "Don't you have a fella waiting for you to get home?"

"Only if you count my brother" They both laughed.

He walked over to her desk "let me take a look" and he held out a hand.

Linda let out a sigh and hesitated handing it to him. He set his coat and hat down on the desk closest to him and took a seat on the corner of Lindas desk, reading fairly quick.

"So?" asked Linda.

"So, we are in the business to sell news paper, we sell papers if people read us, people read us if they need to or want to. We're not competing for the people who need us for business reasons, stock market quotes, movie listings, obits, white sales, whatever. We're competing for the people how don't need to read us, they have to want to read us, it's our job to make them want to read us and the way we do that for one is with good leads." He gave her a few examples. He read hers out loud and told her it was week. He could the disappointment on her face.

She reached over to grab the paper, "I'll fix it"

"Don't you want to know what I think of the rest of your article?"

She smiled and handed back the paper

Back at the Metcalf residence, Jeff and Ginger had just gotten home. They walked into the house and heard the radio playing. Ginger walked over to it, turned it off and saw the beer on the table. Jeff picked it up and turned to his wife, both confused by what they had found.

Later that night, Linda had finished her rewrite and walked into Phil's office where she was surprised to see he was still there.

"You're here late" she thought he'd gone home after he had helped her with her pice and then talked a little.

"Yes I am"

"I had just planned to leave this on your desk" she said as she held up her article"

"That's a…?" he asked as she walked over to him holding out the papers she had just typed. "A rewrite"

"I had a felling I might see a rewrite tonight, that's why I stayed late"

"Well?" she asked as he looked at it.

"I'll read it now" he replied looking at her with a smile on his face.

"Thank you. I'll just wait out there" she said as she gestured with her body to the bullpen.

After a minute or two Linda heard Phil call her name asking her to come into his office.

She walked into his office to see him on the phone.

"I've got a pice for page three, ah eight inches 22 point headline… move that to the back"

Linda stood in front of his desk with a smile stuck on her face as he hung up the phone.

"Well it's a done deed, you're a reporter"

Linda held her hand out to Phil "Thanks for the shot, and the advice"

He held on to her hand a little longer than what was deemed appropriate. "Let's celebrate" he proposed as he walked behind his desk to retrieve a bottle from a dour.

"Oh it's so late"

"I save this for special occasions" he told Linda as he held up the bottle for her to see then poured it into two glasses.

"I don't really drink scotch."

"Yes you do." He said as he handed her a glass. She took it and he raised his, "here's to your first article." She couldn't help but smile as they clinked glasses and drank


End file.
